6th Gen Radiator Painting

Has anyone painted their radiator with any ill effects? I painted the plastic grates and want to black out the radiator so that they stand out more. Eastwood makes a special alum. radiator paint that is supposed to not inhibit the cooling abilities whatsoever. Any advice or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

 

Hilbily needs to hear from Badbilly when it comes to all things paint. See if he drops by this thread.

 

For near total blackout, some rattlecan barbeque or header paint will do. My choice would be something other than flat so the bugs don't stick when you wash your bike.

A little hard to find but if you have an outlet nearby that sells wood and pellet stoves ect., there is a rattlecan product called "Stove Bright" that comes in several colors and is high heat well able to stand the 220F or so of your radiator.

I am not familiar with the grates on a Gen 6. These may be a high heat plastic. If not, maybe some silicone Orings as standoffs

The radiator should come off the bike and be cleaned and prepped. A good wash with dish detergent and a soft brush should do the trick. Do not use any hot solvents on it. ie acetone, lacquer thinner ect. it will dissolve the factory coating. If a solvent is needed, use paint thinner or for a small job like a bike radiator, a can of lighter fluid or some barbeque starter will do. These are both basically naptha..

Go easy on trying to get the job done in a hurry. Radiators have lots of surface area and convolutions. Lots of angles to cover, so a light touch and misting on the paint in steps will do.

RTFM... or the nannoprint on the cans. If there is a recoat time. Pay attention to what it says. Get outside those windows and some of the paints and coatings will lift and then you have a mess.

Ten bucks says the Eastwood stuff is good. Another tenner says it's expensive, five more says its maybe not really aluminum. Dry millage in paint is measured in units of .001 in. Two or three mils is not going to make much difference in the cooling capacity IMO.. Heat is measured in physics using a black body anyway..

One more source for high heat paint is Sherwin-Williams. They have it in bulk (quarts) and may have it in rattlecans under the Krylon label.


Now if someone can tell me how to paint Teflon, I am off to Walmart for the solution..

 

My turn in the barrel again?? LOL

 

Thank you for the info. Looks like my initial plan is gonna need some rethinking. The eastwood stuff is spendy at about 15 bucks a can so the other stove or high temp paint may be my ticket. What I planned to do was give them each 1 or 2 very light coats. Not looking for complete black out but enough so that the yellow that I painted the grates will stand out better. Thanks again for the info. very helpful.

 

nah... you'll breeze through it like Oprah through jo-jos.

 

I could be wrong but I would tend to think that paint on an aluminum radiator would affect heat transfer and affect cooling efficiency.

 

This is technically possible but measurement for quantifiable evidence on a bike radiator might take more time than its worth. This may be why I still have an airhead BMW and a SR500 thumper..

Some of the dudes here that commute 365 through rain, sleet, hail, fog, snow, smog, grasshoppers, and live in North Dakota or one of those places where ya need a Zamboni to get to Walmart, might chip in with some stats..

 

Let's hope it's not the other way round..

 

No pictures of that, please and thank you.

 

I ended up not messing with painting the radiators. Once I got the grates on and everything buttoned up it looks like the yellow will stand out just fine. This is in the basement under crappy lights but you get the idea.

 

I have never seen those grates. I would think that they would hamper the rad's cooling ability far more than the proper heat resistant paints that BB refers to.

 

That is the factory plastic grate that they all have. They are normaly black so you dont see them. Just painted the yellow to stand out and add some color.

 

Ahhhh! so they are. Sux getting old!

 

Jeez Randy, age is just a number. Nothing a handful of Alieve and a Viagra won't cure. A litte exercise wouldn't hurt either

 

I use viagra to stop me from rolling out of the bed.

 

Now that's funny.

 

If somebody made those grates in steel, they could be painted using high-temp paint and serve not only as guards to keep all kinds of crap oot of the radiator but a temp storage surface for go packs of Jo-jo's. The ultimate road food.